Borderline
by sf
Summary: Two different sides, two different perspectives... inadvertently seperated, the Sanzo-ikkou find themselves on opposite sides of a youkai-human conflict that will question all their loyalties and beliefs. (Revision in progress.)
1. Where the problem arises

BORDERLINE - Revised.   
By sf

Original : Dec 28, 2001 - May 01, 2002  
Revision : Dec 06, 2002

Summary : The Sanzo-ikkou is separated by a sneak attack, landing them on opposite sides of a human-youkai conflict.

Rating : PG-13  
Rated for violence and language.

Foreword :  
Begun almost a year after the original version of Borderline was written and released, the first revision was done to correct (in my opinion), a truly horrendous piece of writing, and to bring it somewhat closer to my current (and pre-2000) writing style. While the storyline remains largely the same, some minor details in plot have been altered (usually, removed), to give way to a great deal of detail and less, but sharper, dialogue. In accordance to my change in taste, main changes can be briefly summarized as a shortening of the fight scenes and the removal of a lot of (trivial) banter, which gives the work a more serious flavor. 

It is not my intention to rewrite Borderline from scratch, although that is true for the earlier chapters, as the reader can tell at one glanced. Lines retained from the original? Probably about 5 in the entire first chapter. However, since I perceive the writing to have dramatically improved in later chapters, my inherent lazy streak hopes that I can reuse more material and write less.

For now, however, Borderline exists as an entirely new story, reusing an old plot. Feedback is still very welcomed .. writing the revision has been like writing a new fic, and I'm very interested to know what the readers think of the changes. The original Borderline has been stored at   
http://division-stormwind.org/sf/works/border.asp

Happy reading,   
sf, December 8 2002.   
_How fast time passes..._

CHAPTER 1  
_Where the problem arises._

The road wound its way around the mountain range. It was ancient beyond legend, carved by both humans and youkai, the legacy of a time where cooperation still existed between the two. It was a path that sliced across the harsh landscape to link green fields that had once housed youkai settlements, and a lush valley populated by humans. A link, in more ways than one.

As the two races became enstranged, the road began to fall into ruin and disrepair. Yet sections endured, just enough to make the way a little easier for travellers through the mountains, a bittersweet reminder of earlier days.

Jiipu traversed the path with relative ease. Sounds of bickering from the back seat mingled with the muted whir of its engine, until the former was cut shot by the characteristic thump of a paper fan meeting two heads. 

The sun was setting in the distant west, fading gold turning to brilliant red. Far in the east, the first stars could be seen.

Sanzo stared at the setting orb, irked at their lack of progress. They had been stuck in the range for several days already, forced to walk in places where the road was too narrow to drive, or where it had been worn away. It seemed that they could look forward to yet another night in the open. As the last of the sun dipped below the horizon, he sighed in defeat and signaled a stop.

"Dinner!" Goku crowed, leaping out of the backseat and brushing off the dust from more than fourteen hours of straight travel. As the other passengers disembarked, Jiipu shimmered once and vanished, taking the form of a small white dragon. With a quiet sigh of fatigue and relief at the halt, he alighted on Hakkai's shoulder. 

"You call _that_ dinner?" Gojyo said in annoyance, gesturing at the dried meat and bread that served as their rations, this far from civilization. 

"Shut up and eat," Sanzo replied wearily. 

"Na, Sanzo, you're in a bad mood tonight," Goku pointed out, and received a chilly stare from the priest in response.

"We should be able to reach the valley by midday tomorrow," Hakkai pointed out. "I'm sure that there are villages down there."

"Good," Gojyo replied, leaning against an outcrop of rock.

The conversation faltered after that. While the prospect of a real bed and real food the next day was enticing, it was also half a day of travel away and, for the moment, not worth dwelling on. And tired and irritable as they were, there seemed to be nothing worth conversing about at the moment.

The silence did not last long. Goku made a grab for the last slice of bread at the same time that Gojyo did, and they paused, eyeing each other. Then the fighting started.

"Mine!"  
"Hands off, bakazaru!"  
"Who are you calling a bakazaru?!"  
"You don't deserve it, bakazaru!"  
"Yeah?! You don't deserve it more, cockroach!"

By now, Goku was flinging punches at Gojyo, who was attempting to hold him at arm's length. The original object of their contention was forgotten.

Sanzo glared at both parties, massaging his forehead in a vain attempt to drive off the rising migraine. Hakkai watched him out of the corner of his eye, anticipating the explosion.

Which finally came, delivered in the form of a single pistol shot in the air. Goku and Gojyo froze, eyes going comically wide at the site of the priest holding his smoking Smith and Wesson. 

"One more sound and you're dead," Sanzo said softly. He studied their expressions a little while longer, then ground out a curse and stormed away to stand by the edge of the slope. Behind, the guilty parties slowly thawed, and settled onto the ground with a thump.

"He's in a _really_ bad mood," Gojyo muttered.

"Yeah," Goku seconded.

Abruptly, Hakuryuu squeaked. Hakkai was on his feet in an instant, calling out, but the warning arrived too late. The shadows came alive with movement, and one hurled itself at the priest, slamming bodily into him and sending both of them rolling down the mountain side. Goku cried out in alarm, summoning Nyoibou.

"Goku! No!" Hakkai cautioned, but the youth ignored him. In a burst of speed, he eluded both attackers and Hakkai to rush to the edge, staring down at the slope in horror. Then, without a word, he leapt off.

"GOKU!" Gojyo yelled.

"Watch it!" This time, the warning gave Gojyo enough time to leap back. The heavy blow from the attacking youkai's club, intended to split his skull, crashed across his gut instead. Then there was a splatter of blood as Hakkai sniped the youkai through the heart with a ki blast. 

"Are you okay? Gojyo?" Hakkai called, and the half-breed gave him a grin and a thumbs up, even as he decapitated two more assailants with his shaku jou. "I'm fine. It's pay back time."

***

They rolled down the slope, the youkai crowing in triumph and Sanzo cursing, trying to draw his revolver. 

"You're dead, human," the youkai sneered. "I'll gut you and spill your entrails all across the mountainside. Unless, of course, I decide to eat them instead."

"Eat this, moron!" Sanzo snarled, sending a bullet through the youkai's gut. The youkai howled and they ran out of slope then, slamming onto a shelf halfway down the mountain. Sanzo rolled aside and snapped off a second bullet straight through its skull. His attacker fell and didn't move again.

"Sanzo!" 

He glanced up. 

"SANZO!"

A brown shape slipped and tumbled, head over heels, down the course that he had just taken. Goku crashed into the ground, hard. 

"Idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Goku stood up and blinked owlishly, cradling his head in pain. "I didn't think..."

"_Typical_."

Sanzo stood, wincing at the bruises and abrasions. Rolling down a mountainside was _not_ his idea of fun.

"Sanzo.. the world's tilting funny," Goku mumbled.

Sanzo glanced up, brow furrowing. _Concussion?_

"And there are these lights..." Goku looked up, leaned backwards, and fell over. 

Sanzo was at his side in an instant, catching him before he could go crashing into the ground again. His hand brushed the brown hair and came away wet with blood. _Damn._ _He cracked his head on the way down. _Grinding his teeth, he looked up. There was no going back the way they had come, not with a slope that steep and that high. It had to be a good two hundred meters up. It wasn't a climb that he wanted to attempt anytime, let alone at night, with an injured companion...

He sighed and glanced at the youth in his arms, truly frustrated by situation. 

"Dumbass ape."

***

"That's the last of them," Hakkai reported, nudging the latest corpse with his foot. 

Gojyo was standing by the edge, staring down into the darkness. The youkai side of his heritage lent him superior night vision to the average human, but he was still unable to discern anything in the darkness. "Think they fell all the way to the bottom?"

"I hope not," Hakkai said softly, coming up beside him. "It.. I _thought_ I heard voices, but I couldn't be sure."

"No way in Hell I'm going to attempt that in the dark. And I'm not going down the way those two did," Gojyo muttered, trying to ignore the flaring pain in his ribs from the earlier blow. 

Hakkai glanced at him. "Let me take a look at that injury."

"I'm fine," Gojyo lied.

  
"Oh?" Hakkai darted forward and poked him -- hard -- in the ribs. Gojyo fell back with a curse and slapped his hand away. "Alright, so it's _not_ okay. I think I cracked a rib, or something. And since you can't heal broken bones, I don't think there's anything we can do about it."

"True," Hakkai sighed, glancing back down the slope. "I guess.. we should stay here until day break. I don't know how we're going to find them in the dark, and you should rest."

"I don't know how we're going to find them at all," Gojyo said.

"We'll think of something."

***

There was nothing he could use to bandage the wound, Sanzo realized, unless he used his robe. So here he was, standing somewhere high on the mountainside with the bakazaru bleeding all over his sleeve. _Without_ supplies. Several adjectives describing the gods' sense of humor came to mind, none of them polite.

Goku's injury necessitated action, specifically, moving towards civilization, where he could get treatment. He had an open head wound, a nasty, nasty business that was inconveniently life-threatening, even for a youkai. Besides, an exposed cliff-side was not a good place to spend the night, not with hostile youkai on the prowl.

Goku stirred. Golden eyes flickered open and he blinked blearily at Sanzo. "When's breakfast?"

Sanzo gnashed his teeth at the sheer idiocy of it all. "There's no breakfast. There isn't even any damn food, since you didn't have the foresight to bring it when you jumped down."

"Jumped down?"

A little bit of surprise, then. "You don't remember what happened?"

"No... where are we?"

"You leapt off a cliff." He shrugged irritably. "We're somewhere on a mountain-side."

"No food?"

"No, idiot!"

"So what do we do?" He stumbled to his feet. "...dizzy..."

Sanzo barely got out of the way before Goku abruptly fell to his knees again and retched, throwing out most of dinner. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he sat back on his heels with a groan. "Hungry..."

It was amazing, Sanzo mused, how the kid could still feel hungry after puking his guts out. "Can you walk?"

Goku blinked at him. 

Sanzo nodded in the general direction of the valley. "The sooner we start, the sooner you get fed," he said, throwing out an irresistible lure. He was not disappointed. Goku leapt to his feet, staggered, then summoned his staff to act as a walking stick. Leaning on it, he chirped, "Let's get going, then!"

The corners of Sanzo's mouth twitched in what might have been a smile, albeit vestigial. "Very well."

It was the coldest part of the night, several hours before dawn. Goku was limping, breathing heavily. "I .." he stumbled, and stopped altogether. He stood there, swaying unsteadily for a moment. 

Abruptly, his knees just gave out on him. 

Sanzo spun at the thud, gun in hand. And swore. "Oi, Goku!"

The words echoed down the mountain side, but there was no other response. Stepping forward, he nudged Goku with his foot. "Wake up, saru!"

When he was greeted with silence a second time, he shoved the gun back into his sleeve pocket and dropped to one knee beside his companion. A careful examination of the wound proved that it was still bleeding. "Damn idiot," he muttered, for the umpteenth time that night. "Damn, stupid _idiot!_"

__

He did it for you, an annoying little voice nagged at him.

__

I never asked him to, he replied, a standard response. 

__

Does it really make a difference?

Go away, he told it wearily. 

***

They slept, or at least Gojyo slept, while Hakkai kept watch. Somewhere near dawn, Hakuryuu crawled sleepily to his side and laid his head in his lap. "He may have internal injuries," Hakkai said. "Gojyo, I mean."

"Kyuu?"

"We need to find help. But I don't know.. do we leave here or do hang around and hope that Sanzo and Goku will find us? And our provisions won't last long either..."

"Kyuu.." Hakuryuu murmured, closing ruby eyes. 

Hakkai smiled at the dragon. "Yes, you might as well get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us."

***


	2. Where people meet other people

CHAPTER 2  
_Where people meet other people_.

Dawn broke. 

Sanzo blinked, waking from a doze he had never intended to take. Goku was beside him, still out cold, a makeshift bandage that had once formed the hem of Sanzo's robe wrapped around the wound. A careful exploration proved that it was still bleeding, and Sanzo glared at the sun, glared at the saru, and swore.

"What a bad time to do this," he grumbled, as the light flooded the valley ahead of him. Dawn came quickly on the far side of the mountain. He could espy the valley from here -- they were near the foot of the mountains. And there was a hint of red and gold in the distance that might just have been rooftops. 

He looked at Goku and back down the trail. Leaving him behind... was tempting, definitely. Like it had been tempting to turn around and walk down that _other _mountainside, all those years ago, leaving behind the golden-eyed youth who stared after him through the bars of his prison. But for the same reasons -- whatever they were -- that had stopped him from walking away then, he felt compelled to get Goku to safety. Leaving him now, on an exposed mountain side haunted by rabid youkai.. was certain death. 

__

I wish I had something that I didn't need to protect...

He didn't think about it. He didn't waste time and effort in a fruitless argument with himself, when he knew what the final conclusion would be. Instead, he hoisted Goku over a shoulder, and set off down the mountain side. 

***

"There's a shelf below. It's quite a drop," Gojyo reported to Hakkai, who was preparing breakfast. "One dead youkai. I _think_ I see blood, but I can't be certain. No sign of either of them, though."

"Would they come looking for us?" Hakkai mused.

"Knowing Sanzo-sama? No way."

"I don't think he has a choice, though." 

"Yeah, we have Hakuryuu. And the food."

"Actually, I meant that he couldn't scale that slope, and it doesn't look like there's any path leading back up... breakfast?" Hakkai shoved a plate in front of him.

Gojyo looked down, and his stomach did a flip-flop. Amazing fact of life #6453 : When the one whom you normally fight with for food isn't present, you don't feel hungry.

"Something wrong?" Hakkai inquired.

"Naw.. just not hungry."

Hakkai raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh. Really."

"Okay, _fine_," Gojyo eyed the food again. Perhaps his errant appetite would pick up after he started eating...

...Fat chance.

After he finished throwing up, Gojyo collapsed on the ground and watched the sky spin above him. "Look, I think I see a sheep..." he said, gesturing at a bank of clouds. "Don't you think it's pretty?"

The view was interrupted by Hakkai looming over him. "I think you're in serious trouble."

"Trouble? Me? Since when have _I_ been in trouble?"

"Since that youkai clubbed you last night," Hakkai replied, not in the mood for jokes. "If you can get up, I think we'd better make tracks for civilization as fast as possible."

"Can't you just do one of your healing acts?"

There was a pause. Hakkai looked away. "I'm sorry, I can't. It's not a flesh wound..." He glanced over to where Hakuryuu had morphed back into Jeep form. "Come on Gojyo, let's get going."

***

Sanzo's arms were starting to give. They had reached the edge of the valley, and Goku hadn't shown any signs of reviving. From here, he could see rooftops clearly, and they belonged to a temple. Or at least, it had been a temple at one point in its life, for the architecture implied such, but the high stone walls that surrounded it and the guards -- just black specks from this distance -- patrolling the battlements, gave it the appearance of a fortress.

__

I can only hope.. that it's still in human hands, Sanzo thought fervently, transferring Goku to the other shoulder and continuing down the path. _Or we're both in hot water._

It was almost noon by the time he reached the gate, swaying slightly with his burden. A sentry called out a challenge as he neared and he paused in midstep, too tired to bother with courtesy. If this were a human settlement, it wouldn't take long for them to figure out who he was...

The breeze caught the sutras around his shoulders, causing them to trail in its wake.

"Sanzo Houshi?" the sentry, surprise ringing in his voice. 

Sanzo bit back sarcasm. "Yes. Open the gate."

The gates -- massive affairs of heavy wood that loomed far over his head, creaked ponderously as they moved back. Another sentry hurried out to meet him. "My apologies, Sanzo-sama. I didn't--"

"My companion is injured," Sanzo cut him off. "He requires immediate medical attention." 

"At once, Sanzo-sama," the guard turned, relaying orders. Out of the corner of his eye, Sanzo saw a messenger rush off. "May I?" the guard asked, indicating Goku. 

"Be careful of the head wound," Sanzo replied, handing Goku over with a certain sense of relief. Privately, he swore that this was the last time he carried the bakazaru _anywhere_. "Incidently," he said, adopting a nonchalant tone, "Is it normal for temple guards to wear full armor?"

"We are not a typical temple," the guard said, with a hint of pride in his voice. "We are the last bastion of human settlement west of the mountains. Our grounds house refugees from all over the lands, victims made homeless by incessent youkai attacks."

"You've been attacked." A statement, not a question.

"Often. The mountains are crawling with youkai. Is that how your companion was injured, Sanzo-sama?"

Sanzo arched an eyebrow, but did not reply.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to pry. This way." The guard led the way through the temple grounds. 

There were houses within the walls. Most were hastily erected, but provided decent lodging. Rice fields grew further in, supported by irrigation systems. Farmers moved amongst the swaying stalks. Refugees, the guard had said. 

A squad on horseback clattered past. They moved with the precision of well-drilled soldiers, spears held perpendicular to the ground, brightly colored banners snapping in the wind. Their armor was polished until it shone, and the plumes in their helmets streamed.

They sure looked like greenhorns.

"What's that?" Sanzo asked, indicating the squad.

"A patrol," the guard replied. "They will be scouting the surrounding areas for youkai."

"Do you do this often?"

"Only of late. Our cavalry unit is newly formed."

__

A patrol, eh? Sanzo thought sarcastically. _And the youkai will see you from a mile away. But idiots will be idiots..._

The moat surrounding the temple was the second line of defense. This they crossed, using a traditional wooden drawbridge. Sentries looked down from the battlements, sporting crossbows.

Soldiers were training in the courtyard -- if these could be called soldiers. Most looked as if they'd just been plucked off a farm, not knowing which the business end of a sword was. They duelled clumsily, smashing practice swords into crude shields with more enthusiasm than skill. 

__

If this was once a temple... it seems to have abandoned that identity a long time ago, Sanzo mused. 

They reached the temple doors -- tall, impressive affairs of solid wood, heavily reinforced by iron bars. Here the guards handed them over to several monks in traditional gray robes, the latter looking incongruous in the mill of armored personnel. 

"How can we be of service, Sanzo-sama?" one asked.

"Food and lodging. And a healer," Sanzo ordered. 

"As you wish, Sanzo-sama. Are you injured, yourself?"

"No."_ But I'm as tired as hell._

"Would you care to--"

"_No_," Sanzo snapped. 

The monks drew back, looking chagrined. "Our apologies, Sanzo-sama. We didn't mean to impose. This way, please."

***

__

Elsewhere

They were halfway down the mountain when they ran out of road. And ran into youkai. 

Hakkai sensed their presence moments before they appeared, and brought Hakuryuu screeching to a halt. Gojyo was fumbling for his staff when the first of the youkai appeared around the nearest outcrop, when Hakkai brought a hand down on his arm and shook his hand, minutely.

They were surrounded. _Armed_ youkai, guarding both sides of the pass and closing in from behind, eyed them warily. There had to be at least twenty of them, each carrying a crossbow or a sword... or both. Yet they did not attack immediately.

Cautiously, Hakkai and Gojyo stepped out of the Jeep, which returned to dragon form. Crossbow bolts tracked their every motion. The air was thick with tension.

A youkai stepped out onto the rocky track, regarding them with suspicious eyes. "Who are you?"

"Just travellers," Hakkai replied placidly. "Seeking passage across the mountains."

"You're youkai, aren't you?"

That came as bit of a surprise. Prior to this, youkai had been content to attack first, and ask questions later. Still, the absence of an obviously human priest could have had something to do with it.

"Does it show?" Gojyo asked, with a mirthless grin.

"Yes... we are," Hakkai ceded.

There was a pause. Then, at some unspoken signal, the crossbows lowered. "Well met," the youkai, evidently the leader of the party, said at last. "If not for the red haired one, we would have mistaken you for humans at the first."

"You don't know who we are?" Hakkai asked, all innocence.

"Should we? Are you fleeing from humans?"

"What humans?" Gojyo asked.

"The humans in this area hunt down all youkai without discrimination. You are fortunate to have come this far without encountering resistance." He gestured brusquely towards the valley below. "I wouldn't head down, if I were you. The area is crawling with anti-youkai sentiment."

"But..." Hakkai spread his hands helplessly. "We're bound for the valley..."

A second youkai hurried up. "Sir..." he leant forward, whispering something into his superior's ear. The first youkai's expression darkened.

"We have word of a human patrol closing in on the area," he told Hakkai and Gojyo. "We cannot linger here. You two must come with us."

"I'm not budging," Gojyo replied obstinately. "Where would you bring us, anyway?"

"Back to our headquarters. I'm afraid that I cannot leave you to wander around. I am under strict orders to bring all vagrant youkai back to HQ... or kill them."

"Then... I guess we have no option, do we?" Hakkai replied.

***  
TBC  
***

  
Archived : http://division-stormwind.org/sf/works/bordernew2.asp  
Borderline, original edition : http://division-stormwind.org/sf/works/border2.asp

January 01 03  



	3. Where a plot starts appearing

CHAPTER 3  
_Where a plot starts appearing_.

Goku blinked.

Slowly, the brown blur in front of his eyes became the beams of a wooden ceiling. He blinked again, attempting and failing to recall where he was or how he'd gotten there. 

"Since no one's trying to kill me, it can't be all that bad..." he muttered. Besides, there were more important things to attend to. Like the fact that he hadn't eaten since goodness knew when...

It was evening. The reddish-gold light of the setting sun filtered in through a circular window. Through grills, he could just make out a small garden. The place reminded him of Chou'An Temple.

He sat up, allowing his gaze to travel around the room. There was no sense of youryoku whatsoever, which boded well. Unfortunately, there wasn't be any sign of his companions either. Another bed stood against the far end of the room, and it looked as if it might even have been slept in, but it was empty. 

__

Empty...

Panic hit his gut like ice. "Sanzo?" he asked. "Hakkai? Gojyo?" He swung himself out of bed. "Anyone?"

The door opened easily, and he strayed out into an empty coridor. Just a long corridor with closed doors all the way down. No sign of any living objects what so ever. "Hello?"

He strained his memory, and caught flashes -- _Sanzo falling down the mountain side, a fight with youkai, dirt and earth rushing past his head..._ and nothing. Had Sanzo been hurt? Dimly, he thought he remembered jumping down after the priest. He couldn't actually remember having found him. 

Unless Sanzo had left him behind. 

More recollections -- a long trek through the night, hurrying after the priest who didn't wait, didn't look back...

__

He wouldn't have... would he? 

He leaned against the wall, suddenly dizzy. His head was throbbing madly, and nausea rolled in his gut. _Musta hit my head... real hard..._ He took a tentative step, then his legs gave way altogether. _Shit._

Through the sudden ringing in his ears, he thought he heard footsteps echoing down the corridor. _Sanzo...?_

***

"He is a youkai."

"He is Sanzo's companion."

"Companion or prisoner, it does not matter. He is a youkai. Therefore, he must die."

***

__

Elsewhere

Sanzo reined in and took one last scan around the area. His horse, a black gelding, snorted and chaffed, impatient to return by sundown.

Might as well head back. No sign of Hakkai or Gojyo at all. 

He had ridden out early in the afternoon, in an attempt to find his companions. It had been almost impossible to get the horse through the mountainous terrain and back to the pass where they had been attacked, but it would have taken longer to walk the distance from the temple to the mountain on foot. Thank goodness the temple is practically at the foot of these mountains...

Involuntarily, his mind wandered back to the afternoon. 

__

He had awoken with the afternoon sun in his face, still exhausted from the sleepless night. In the next bed, Goku was totally oblivious to the world.

That wound must be more serious than I thought, to knock _him_ out for so long. _He rolled over, trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep. His brain, however, refused to let him rest. _

Have to find the two morons...

__

Groaning, he dragged himself out of bed.

__

The monks hadn't been too pleased when they heard that he was leaving.

"But Sanzo-sama, the Elder wishes to see you!"

"Sanzo-sama, we can't let you go out into those mountains alone! They're fraught with youkai!"

"Sanzo-sama..."

Ignoring their protests, he'd saddled the first available horse and ridden out like thunder. Looking at their dumbstruck expressions, he felt a tinge of perverse amusement. Reciting sutras never saved any body. Unless, of course, you have the right sutras...

But he might as well have gone back to sleep. Hours of searching and he hadn't found so much as a track in the dirt. If Hakkai were in the area, he'd trust that he'd either hear Jiipu trundling along, or see the dragon sailing in the sky. But the mountains had been quiet, and there wasn't even a bird in sight. Annoyed, he turned and headed for home.

The sun was just a red glow on the horizon by the time he returned to temple grounds. As he dismounted, a strange stab of worry and a sense of wrongness hit him. Frowning, he hastened his footsteps, heading back to his room with all speed. 

***

__

Huh?!

Some instinct made Goku roll away from the dagger thrust that would have ended his life. _What the---_

He attempted to struggle to his feet, and made it to a crouch as the attacker struck once more. 

One moment he'd been alone in the corridor, the next there'd been a _slither_ of motion and a streak of silver where his neck had been. Then there was a masked human in front of him, a dagger in each hand....

"Who are you?!" Goku demanded.

One dagger stabbed into the wall beside his head. Goku dodged and summoned his staff. Nyoibou blazed into existence in a flash of light, momentarily confusing his attacker. He swung, misjudged his strength, and the end of the staff hit the ground clumsily. _Not good, not good at all.._.

The world started spinning again as the adrenaline hit his blood stream. A dagger flashed towards his face; he leapt out of the way in the nick of time.

Then all balance deserted him. His vision pulsed _black white black_ and the next moment he had crashed heavily to the floor, Nyoibou clattering down beside him. He couldn't seem to catch his breath. Dimly, he could sense the assassin closing for the kill. _Shit, I can't move in time..._

A gun shot stabbed through the air. The assassin's upraised dagger shattered into a thousand pieces. 

Goku tried to focus blurry eyes. "...Sanzo?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the priest's familiar voice called out. 

"...Wasn't doing anything..." Goku mumbled.

"I wasn't talking to you, idiot." Sanzo was standing in the middle of the corridor, his gun trained unerringly on the assassin's forehead. 

"He is a youkai," the man replied with equal calm. "All youkai must die. It has been declared."

"By _whom_, may I ask?"

"By his Holiness, the temple abbott."

"The Elder, hm? I'm overriding his authority. _This_ youkai is under my protection. If any of you touches one _hair_ of his head... we're see about death proclaimations. Rest assured that I'm far more efficient at dispatching my targets."

"With all due respect, Sanzo-sama, I would watch my back," the assassin shrugged eloquently.

"Behind you--!" Goku called in warning.

There was the sound of safeties being clicked off. Sanzo spun, coming face to face with three guards, carrying armed and loaded rifles. "What the Hell is this?"

"Sanzo-sama, the Elder has requested an audience with you."

"I'm busy. Tell him to go--"

"I'm tried that he was quite insistent," the guard's tone was patently polite; his stance and the rifle indicated that impoliteness was an option.

Sanzo's eyes narrowed. He paused, evidently considering his options. 

"Sanzo, if you--" Goku began, when the priest waved a hand to cut him off. "Get back to bed."

"But..."

Sanzo stabbed a finger at one of the guards. "You. Get him food. And if I return to find that any harm has been visited upon his person..."

"There will be no such occasion. We apologize profusely. Evidently, there was some breakdown in communication."

"So the Temple authorized this attack?"

"We are not in a position to comment, Sanzo-sama. However, the Elder may be able to answer your questions."

"He had better." Sanzo strode off, leaving the guards to clatter after him.

***

"We are honored by your presence, Sanzo-sama." The Elder rose from his chair, bowing. "Please, take a seat."

Sanzo remained standing. "You might as well drop the courtesies. What do you want?"

"Really, Sanzo--"

There was a glint as Sanzo retrieved the Smith and Wesson from his sleeve pocket. "I'm afraid that I'm weary and have no wish to tally, your Holiness."

The Elder chuckled. "Well, well. Allow me to apologize for the method of invitation. However, I felt the compelling need to impress upon you that you cannot simply leave the temple ground without an escort. The surrounding areas are too dangerous for you travel alone in."

"I came here through these 'surrounding areas'. Allow me to reassure you that I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Incidently," and his tone, already cold, grew frigid, "There is the little matter of sanctioned attempted murder on temple grounds."

"Again, my humble apologies. You must realize that the Minus Wave has driven most of the youkai of the region insane. We have a standing order that all youkai must be killed on sight; we did not have time to issue an exception on behalf of your companion. The matter has been remedied. We will not make this mistake again."

"This _mistake_?" Sanzo scoffed quietly. 

"Incidently..."

Sanzo narrowed his eyes. "If you're asking for any teachings--"

"--nothing so trivial, Sanzo-sama. Rather, we rather your expertise in the field of youkai extermination."

"I'm not--"

"--allow me to explain. There is a tribe of marauding youkai in these hills. They have been pillaging and destroying human settlements for miles around without remorse, slaying innocents by the hundreds. To stop them, we have been forced to turn our temple into a fortress, and to organize some form of defense. After many months of work, we finally have the forces and the resources to launch a counter-attack on the enemy. Our scouts have reported the position of their base."

"This has nothing to do with me."

"We have heard of your impressive track record. The number of youkai which have perished at your hands is probably more than all our soldiers' kills combined. We would be honored if you could join us on this assault. We leave at dawn tomorrow." He paused. "Your companion will not be fit to travel for many days. In the meantime... consider it a favor in return for our care of him."

Something flashed in Sanzo's eyes. "You don't require my assistance. If you've been planning this attack for as long as you say you have, you don't need me to get involved."

"We would appreciate... nay, we require as much assistance as possible. We do not know the full extent of the enemy's forces. We need every advantage we can muster."

"The answer is no."

"If your companion were to leave now, he would not survive until the next city, which is weeks of travel away. And I'm afraid that we will require all our medicine and accomodation for our own wounded. We really have to no reason to be housing him."

"Are you threatening me?" Sanzo asked softly.

"As I said, consider it a fair exchange. After all, you can scarcely leave now. Moreover, your companion is a _youkai_, Sanzo-sama. The complaints have been numerous. His presence is breeding dissent and confusion amongst the ranks."

Sanzo snorted, and turned away. The three guards behind raised their weapons. 

"Am I to take that as your consent?" the Elder called after him.

"So. Now it's a matter of joining you or dying?" Sanzo sneered.

"If you put it that way, yes."

There was a long, long silence. 

"I will ride with you," Sanzo ground out at last, through clenched teeth.

"One last thing, Sanzo-sama."

Sanzo half-turned back, but did not respond.

"We require that you hand over your weapon. We will return it tomorrow. This is a precaution. No outsider is allowed to carry weapons on temple grounds."

The fury in Sanzo's eyes could have struck the Elder dead. "Enough is enough," Sanzo snapped. 

"What do you require will you require a gun for, between today and tomorrow?" the Elder asked. "Unless you were planning on murdering someone... or reneging on your promise?"

"On the condition that no harm comes to my companion, and absolutely no need for a weapon arises during the time it is out of my hands."

"Very well."

__

By all the gods, I will kill him when this is over. Swiftly, Sanzo drew the exorcism gun, dropped it on the floor, and left. The guards did not stop him.

***

Archived :   
Original : 

May 10 2003


End file.
